RC score falls AFTER 7Sage CC

Kateelaine

Anyone else experience a RC drop after the CC? My first diagnostic I took back in November had me at missing 7 questions in the RC. I've consistently scored missing 5-7 on each RC for entirety of my LSAT studying. Honestly, I haven't really bothered to beef up my RC score because I was doing okay without studying for it, and so I focused on the LR and LG. Usually the incorrect questions are from the last passage when I'm feeling a little rushed. SO I decided to go over the 7Sage CC for the RC to help me eliminate those 5-7 wrong RC questions. Now, after doing the 7Sage CC for the RC my score has COMPLETELY dropped. Like, -14 for RC instead of the usual 5-7 wrong. Anyone else experience this, and how did you undo the damage?

Daniel.Sieradzki

Hi Katharine,

First off, what test was your diagnostic and what test did you just take? The RC sections have become a lot harder in the 50+ PTs. That might be part of the issue.

The second issue might be that you are trying to incorporate the strategies that you have learned from the CC. At first, new strategies slow you down. It takes time to get used to them and fully utilize them. I found that this was especially true with RC. Every time I tried a new strategy, my score would drop. That is actually why I recommend trying new strategies out on drills (PT 1-36). Do not burn new tests trying out strategies!

The good news is that there is likely no damage being caused. It is just a natural part of learning the RC section. I would do some RC drills and apply what you learned from 7Sage. I think that you will find that your score improves. Good luck!

Alex

@"Daniel.Sieradzki" said:
Hi Katharine,

First off, what test was your diagnostic and what test did you just take? The RC sections have become a lot harder in the 50+ PTs. That might be part of the issue.

The second issue might be that you are trying to incorporate the strategies that you have learned from the CC. At first, new strategies slow you down. It takes time to get used to them and fully utilize them. I found that this was especially true with RC. Every time I tried a new strategy, my score would drop. That is actually why I recommend trying new strategies out on drills (PT 1-36). Do not burn new tests trying out strategies!

The good news is that there is likely no damage being caused. It is just a natural part of learning the RC section. I would do some RC drills and apply what you learned from 7Sage. I think that you will find that your score improves. Good luck!

Totally agree. When implementing new strategies, especially RC ones, I think it is best to practice these on sections, both timed and untimed, on the older exams.

When I began using ANY strategy for RC (7Sage, Manhattan, LSAT Trainer) it slowed me down at first. After practicing on several passages I was able to more effectively and naturally implement what I had learned while taking PTs.

Kateelaine

Okay, my very first diagnostic (which I took on November 8, 2016) was test A from the SuperPrep test book. I got a woeful 146. I actually remembered incorrectly, and only scored a 18 on the RC. A month later and I was solidly scoring a 20 on the RC, and stayed there for the majority of the time. I never drilled using newer test materials, because I saved those test for simulated test days. Admittedly, I have only spent about 10% of my study time on the RC. I never even drilled RC in the old tests because I found them to be written differently than the new ones, and (honestly) found them to be much more difficult than the newer RC sections. So I procrastinated studying for the RC and focused on the LR and LG. I did not waste valuable test material drilling RC on recent tests, and totally neglected the older ones for RC. In short, I've been getting around 20 correct on the RC section with no prep other than weekly drillings when I take exams. I'm just trying to figure out why now that I'm actually trying to pull up my RC score that it's falling so much. I'm crossing my fingers I'll be ready to take the June exam. Ugh. I'm just angry because this was supposed to be my easy section!

Daniel.Sieradzki

I see. PT A is an old test. I believe it is from February 1996. This places it around PT 18. Did you get a -14 on a different old test?

It sounds like the issue is just that you are now focusing on RC and using the knowledge you got from the CC. By working to bring up your RC score, you are trying out what you learned and your score is dropping while you get used the new techniques. That is normal. It will correct itself with time and practice.

Also, if your score is still not where you want it by June, delaying the test until September might be a good idea. This is an important test. You want to make sure you have your RC strategies down and your scores consistent before you take the real thing. There is no significant difference between applying in September with a June score or applying in October with a September score. The real difference comes with being prepared and applying with your best possible score.

Kateelaine

@"Daniel.Sieradzki" I didn't realize PT A was so old! I never got a -14 on any old tests that I kept a record of (I've really only kept pristine records of my simulated PTs. I felt like there was too much pressure if I kept a record of drilling scores, since I viewed them for learning and not testing what I know). I suppose I should stop freaking out (sorry about that), and view all this as a learning experience. After I posted initially here, I did an untimed RC section (took me about 41 minutes) and got -9 wrong. The questions I got wrong were the most obvious, inane mistakes out there. So I guess I just have to keep on drilling so my brain under pressure functions properly.

I'll keep studying and trying to solidify concepts and pull up scores. I'm giving myself two weeks before the June test before deciding if I'll take it. I feel like some concepts might just click and I'll be ready for June. I've been studying for so long now, I'm just ready to take the dang thing. But that being said, I also have my personal deadline for deciding written down in my calendar. I won't take it unless I am testing within my target range and am confidant I'll score my target range on test day.

Thank you for the advice, all of you. I can live with this being a normal score fluctuation/drop, as long as I haven't mis-learned, or un-learned something fundamental. But if this is a normal byproduct of learning a new approach, I can deal with it.

rafaelito

My RC also dropped but now I've gotten it back up. To be honest, now that I've gone through the CC and learned everything I have no idea how it was high to begin with. I think intuition and good short term memory perhaps helped but I certainly had no understanding of argument or reasoning structure. I'd say don't despair nor think that what you've learned isn't helping or has made you worse. It's part of the learning curve and ultimately you'll score higher if you keep with the strategies in the CC.

JustDoIt

I also think it drops because you are trying to learn new stuff. It also takes a while to implement the strategies you learned from the curriculum. I would just remember that you are reading for reasoning structure. Learning how to read for the forest and not the trees is something that takes a little while to implement so I would keep your head up. Focus on the structure of the passage and let the key points guide you. (This is what the trainer is all about and this is mostly what they talk about there.)

http://www.thelsattrainer.com/assets/4-lsat-reading-comp-basics-sample-chapter.pdf

Hope this helps!